The Good Beach Guide is a free service, but a donation
means we can keep the site runningDonate

Clean Seas

Fancy a dip?

During the bathing season - May to September in England and Wales and June to September in Scotland and Northern Ireland - water samples are regularly taken by the environmental regulator at over 600 UK beaches. At the end of every bathing season the water quality is classified as either -

Excellent – the highest classification meaning the water is cleanestGood – generally good water qualitySufficient – meets minimum standardsPoor – You are advised not to swim. The beach will stay open and an action plan should be in place to improve the water quality.

These are new European standards introduced in 2015. They are based on the latest health advice and are roughly twice as tough as the old ones – we think they're a great improvement. Find out how they compare.

Look for beaches with ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ water quality and check for daily pollution forecasts when deciding where to paddle, swim or snorkel.

What about daily pollution forecasts?

During the bathing season some beaches release daily forecasts, to warn you if there is a risk of increased pollution. Look out for temporary signs at the beach and warnings on our website. Remember water quality can be reduced for up to 72 hours after heavy rain.

What are designated bathing waters?

Water quality needs to be monitored at popular beaches which are called ‘designated bathing waters’ under the Bathing Water Directive. A bathing water is defined as a beach (or inland site) used by a large number of bathers. This is usually considered to be popular, well-used beaches (and lakes), where bathing is promoted or associated facilities are provided.

Sometimes when beaches do not meet these requirements they are monitored on a voluntary basis by the local authority. Although this provides information about the general quality of the bathing water to beach users there is no legal requirement to monitor water quality here and ensure that this beach meets the required bathing water standard or to improve the quality. That is why it is better for any beach which meets the requirements to be designated as a bathing water.

How does a bathing water become designated?

Anyone can recommend that a bathing water should be designated. Please contact the relevant authority for further information;

Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

Beaches in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not covered by the EU Bathing Waters Directive but they have chosen to monitor some of their popular beaches using the same standards. The Isle of Man Government has not confirmed whether it will adopt the new bathing water standards for the end of 2015. For further information about bathing water sampling please contact the relevant authority;

Water pollution can come from a variety of places, including agricultural and urban run-off, sewer overflows, misconnected plumbing, septic tanks and dog faeces.

To help improve water quality:

Water companies can improve the way that sewage is treated where needed, and work to reduce sewer overflows during heavy rainfall. They should monitor when untreated sewage is discharged into the environment, and make this information publicly available.

Environment regulators can investigate where pollution is coming from and rectify this.

Home and business owners can help stop sewer blockages by only putting the 3Ps – Pee, Poo and Paper – down the toilet and making sure that fats, oils and greases don’t go down the sink.

Beach users can report pollution incidents to the local council and the environmental regulators pollution hotline (0800 807060), make sure they don’t leave any rubbish on the beach and clean up after their dog.

Marine Wildlife

UK beaches and seas are home to thousands of marine
wildlife species. They live buried in the sand, hidden in rockpools,
clinging to the rocks, lurking in the shallows or can be seen further
out to sea.
There’s so much to explore – check out our UK
seas pages to see what’s living in, on and under the sea.

If you spot jellyfish, basking sharks or sea turtles, then let
us know.

To make sure we can all enjoy our fantastic marine life and amazing
habitats for generations to come, find out why marine
protected areas are so important.

In 2015 we've already had a barrel load of barrel jellyfish sightings!
Reports have been coming in from Devon and Cornwall since the end
of March - with large numbers appearing recently off Teignmouth in Devon,
and Penzance and Newquay in Cornwall. If you're
heading to the beach, make sure you keep your eyes peeled and, if
you see any, report them here.

Get Involved

Love the beach? Join a beach clean

Litter on our beaches is unsightly. It's no pleasure if you have
to pick your way through plastic bottles, condoms, cotton bud sticks
and polystyrene food containers before you go for a paddle. But rubbish
on our beaches is also a hazard for wildlife with hundreds of species
accidentally eating litter or becoming entangled in it.

MCS runs regular beach cleans all over the UK covering much of the
coastline. The results are used to campaign to stop litter getting into the sea in the first place.

Other things you can do:

Don't Let Go!

Take the Plastic Challenge

Buy sustainable seafood

Who we are

The Good Beach Guide is put together by the Marine
Conservation Society (MCS) – the UK’s leading marine charity.

The guide highlights the issue of pollution in bathing waters and has enabled us
to campaign for more investment by water companies in improved
sewage treatment and better monitoring of waste water overflowing on to
beaches.

Our work to ensure all of the UK’s bathing waters are as pollution-free
as they can be, continues.
If you love getting in the sea – please support us.

The Good Beach Guide is a free service, but a donation
means we can keep the site running.Donate

This
website receives well over 700,000 visits per year, providing valuable
advice on water quality and beach facilities.

We
put pressure on water companies to invest in better systems to stop
sewage polluting our seas

We're
making sure there's a proper network of marine protected areas around
the UK, so the wildlife off your favourite bit of coastline can thrive.

Read
our fish advice on Goodfishguide.org, with our mobile app and with the
handy Good Fish Guide download.

The information and data presented on this website is proprietary and
protected by intellectual property rights including database rights and
copyright. In accessing this website you agree to use this material for
your personal use only. The rights of the Marine Conservation Society
are reserved. Should you wish to make any other use of the information
and data presented on this site our written consent is required, please
contact us.